Adjustable jaw open end wrench having a spring seated sliding rack catch



June 27, 1967 Q wEBBEKlNG 3,327,574

ADJUSTABLE JAW OPEN END WRENCH HAVING A SPRING SEATED SLIDING RACK CATCH 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 20, 1966 lo 25 26 m F 19. 4 I; z

ATTORNEYS June 2 7, 1967 Filed June 20, 1966 C. WEBBEKING ADJUSTABLE JAW OPEN END WRENCH HAVING A SPRING SEATED SLIDING RACK CATCH 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 H QT; 5-40 I? {124. I00.

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INVENTOR CARL WEBBEKING BY M f M ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,327,574 ADJUSTABLE .IAW OPEN END WRENCH HAVING A SPRING SEATED SLIDING RACK CATCH Carl Webbeking, 3434 W. 148th St.,

Cleveland, Ohio 44111 Filed June 20, 1866, Ser. No. 558,853 Claims. (Cl. 81-145) This application is a continuation-in-part of applicants copending applications Ser. No. 410,250, filed Nov. 1964, now Patent No. 3,263,534, and Ser. No. 468,258, filed June 30, 1965, now Patent No. 3,256,759.

This invention relates to open end wrenches of the type having a movable jaw adapted to be quickly adjusted to fit a particular nut or other work piece and be locked in its adjustment until released. More particularly the invention relates to a novel means for adjusting the relatively movable jaw of a wrench to a desired spacing, locking the jaws during operation if desired, and quickly releasing the jaws when the wrench is to be removed from the work piece or adjusted to a new nut size, all by the use of one hand while maintaining a firm grip on the wrench.

In the wrench of the present invention, as in applicants copending applications, the ratchet teeth are formed in a surface perpendicular to the axis about which the wrench is turned. The engaging parallel surfaces of the ratchet teeth and the associated pawl are in planes parallel with the axis of the turning of the wrench so that most of the force exercised by one jaw carrying member against the other are distributed over a large effective surface area through uniform surface to surface contact of the pawl with the ratchet teeth and unit pressures are relatively low. The effective surface area of the ratchet teeth that resist the forces tending to open the jaws when the wrench is subjected to higher loads is relatively large so that here again the pressures are minimized.

The adjusting means employed in the present invention is an operating button that is operable by the thumb of the hand which grips the wrench. This enables the operator to quickly ratchet the jaws of the wrench to the desired spacing and lock the jaws in this adjustment, if desired, and quickly open the jaws to release the wrench from the work piece when desired, all by use of only one hand.

One object of the present invention is to provide a rugged quickly adjustable open end wrench that will withstand higher torsional loads without jamming and with adequate support for the movable jaw from the handle part of the Wrench.

Another object of the invention is to provide an automatically adjustable ratchet type wrench with the ratchet teeth uniformly spaced in 32" spaces arranged relative to faces of the gripping jaw carried by the handle and the movable jaw to provide a minimum working clearance for nuts formed to fractions of an inch or, if a metric system is employed a like clearance between the face of the main jaw and the ratchet teeth that will permit a minimum working clearance for nuts of metric measurement.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a wrench that will be sufiiciently simple and inexpensive to manufacture to permit sale at prices competitive with Wrenches employing pivoted jaws and jaws actuated from various other ratchet systems.

Gther objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent by reference to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification.

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of an adjustable open end wrench embodying this invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged plan view of the head portion of the wrench shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 2, with parts broken away, showing the pawl in its disengaged position;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 2, with parts broken away, showing the locking slide and its mounting on the movable jaw carrier of the wrench;

FIGURE 6 is a frangmentary sectional view similar to FIGURE 3 but showing the pawl in its disengaged position, a portion of the locking slide being broken away to show the depressions for the ball bearings;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary plan view of the under side of the Wrench shown in FIGURES l to 6, with a portion of the cover plate and a portion of the pawl broken away to show the ratchet teeth;

FIGURE 8 is a plan View in a modified form of open end wrench constructed according to this invention;

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged plan View of the head portion of the wrench shown in FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 1tl10 of FIGURE 9 and showing the pawl in its disengaged position;

FIGURE 11 is a sectional view similar to FIGURE 10 but showing the pawl in its engaged position;

FIGURE 12 is a fragentary longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 12-12 of FIGURE 9.

The wrench shown in FIGURES l to 7 comprises a handle 1 and an open end wrench head 2 that includes a jaw portion 3 integral with the handle 1 and a movable jaw carrier 4. The members 3 and 4 have work-engaging jaw faces 5 and 6 respectively, for gripping a work piece therebetween.

The handle portion 1 of the wrench has a box-type slideway 7 formed in its upper face for receiving a slide 8 that is an integral portion of the movable jaw carrier 4. The box-type slideway 7 has a pair of overhanging lips 9 and 10 for engaging and slidably supporting the slide 8.

The underside of the handle portion 1 has a ratchet chamber 11 formed therein of sufficient width to accommodate a fiat-sided pawl member 12 that is carried on the button end of a cylindrical post 13. The post 13 is slidably mounted in a cylindrical hole in the movable jaw carrier 8 with a working fit in a slot 14 for operation of the post back and forth along the length of said slot. A slotted ratchet member 15 is rigidly mounted in the bottom of the ratchet chamber 11 with its teeth located on each side of the slot 14. Ratchet teeth 16 are formed on the upper side of the pawl 12 which -fit and mate the ratchet teeth of member 15. As herein shown, all of the V-shaped ratchet teeth are of the same size and shape and have a flat vertical face parallel to the axis of the ratchet member 15 so that such vertical faces are in engagement when the pawl is in the position shown in FIGURE 3. Thus the ratchet teeth can take a heavy load applied to the movable jaw 4.

The upper end portion 19 of the post 13 is externally threaded to receive an internally threaded actuating button 17. The underside of the actuating button is recessed to receive one end of a coil spring 18. The lower end of the spring 18 is mounted in the top surface of the slide 8 as shown in FIGURES 3 and 4. The top of the actuating button has a pair of wrench holes 20 that can be used to lock the actuating button to the top of the post 13. The post 13 has a sliding fit in the slot 14, and the fiatsided pawl has a sliding fit in the ratchet chamber 11 so that when the actuating button 17 is depressed against the coil spring 18 it disengages the ratchet teeth of the pawl from the teeth of the ratchet member 15 and permits the slide jaw 8 of the movable jaw carrier to slide along the slideway 7 but only to the extent permitted by the a) chamber 11 and slot 14 in the handle portion of the wrench.

A cover plate 21 for the ratchet chamber 11 is rigidly mounted on the head 3 so that the ratchet and pawl is protected from the entry of dirt by such cover plate. The cover plate 21 may be held in place by any suitable means. The pawl 12 and the associated ratchet 15 is protected against dirt by being completely enclosed within the chamber 11. The chamber 11 and slot 14 serve to limit movement of the pawl within the chamber 11 and prevent separation of the actuating parts of the wrench head unless the actuating button 17 is removed from the post 13. The flat parallel side walls 22 of the chamber 11 adjacent the fiat sides of the pawl also serve to guide the pawl as it slides along the length of the slot 14.

A recess 23 is formed in the upper face of the movable jaw carrier 4 for receiving the depending tongue portion 24 of the locking slide 25. A pair of ball bearings 26 carried at the opposite ends of a helical spring 27 are mounted in a transverse drill hole 28 through the tongue yieldingly locking the slide 25 in place by engagement of the suitable small depressions 30 in the sides of the recess 23. When the locking slide 25 is in the position shown in FIGURE 6, the actuating button 17 may be depressed, but when the slide 25 is pushed toward the actuating button 17, the tongue 24 moves under the rim 29 of the actuating button as shown in FIGURE 3 and prevents depression. This locks the pawl and ratchet teeth together and prevents movement of the jaw carrier 4 until the locking slide is pushed away from the actuating button 17 to clear the rim 29 thereof. It will be understood, however, that the wrench can be used effectively even without a positive locksuch as the slide 25.

The wrench shown in FIGURES 1 through is assembled by passing the post 13 of the pawl 12 through the circular aperture provided in the movable jaw carrier 4, making sure that the teeth 16 of the flat-sided pawl 12 are in position to properly mesh with the teeth of the ratchet member 15. The spring 18 is then dropped over the post 13, and the actuating button 17 is screwed and tightened down in place on the post 13.

The locking slide with its ball bearings 26 and spring 27 in its tongue portion 24 is pushed into the recess 23. Depressions 30 in the side walls of the recess 23 engage the ball bearings 26 and hold the locking slide 25 in operative position as shown in FIGURE 5.

In use, depression of the actuating button 27 by thumb pressure enables the user to slide the movable jaw carrier 4 to open or close the wrench or, if the wrench is first opened, the user merely pushes on movable jaw carrier 4 to close the wrench on the work by ratcheting the teeth 16 of the pawl over the ratchet teeth 15 of the handle member. If the user wishes to lock the ratchet teeth together for the adjusted fitting, hemoves the locking slide 25 toward the actuating button 17 and the wrench maint-ains that setting until the locking slide is pushed away from the actuating button.

FIGURES 8 to 12 of the drawings show a modified form of wrench constructed according to the present invention which is somewhat less reliable than the wrench of FIGURES 1 to 7 but is simpler and less expensive. This wrench has a handle 1a and a head 2a including a jaw portion 3a integral with the handle and a movable jaw carrier 4a. The jaws have work-engaging faces 5a and 6a for gripping a nut or other work piece therebetween.

The handle portion It: has a slideway 7a formed therediameter of the post 13a is provided in the movable jaw 4a to permit sliding of the jaw to the extent permitted by the slide portion 8a. Ratchet teeth 15a are formed in the face of the stationary portion 3a which are of the same size and shape as the teeth Ida of the pawl. Thus, the teeth fit together like the teeth of the pawl 12 and the ratchet 1.5 to resist opening movement of the jaw 4a when the pawl is in the normal closed position as shown, for example, in FIGURE 11.

An actuating button 17 is rigidly mounted on the post 13a and is biased to a locking position as shown in FIG- URE 11 by the coil spring 18. The button 17 may be depressed to compress the spring 18 as shown in FIG- URE 10 thereby releasing the teeth 16w of the pawl from the ratchet teeth 15a. Thus, by holding the button 17 in its depressed position, the ratchet teeth are disengaged to permit movement of the jaw 4a to any desired position.

The pawl 12a may be provided with flat sided depending guide portion 46 extending into the slot 22a to hold the teeth of the pawl parallel to the teeth 15a and prevent turning movement of the pawl. The slots 14a and 22a will, of course, have suflicient length to permit maximum movement of the jaw 46: while preventing accidental removal of the jaw 4a.

It will be apparent that the locking slide 25 may be used with the button 17 in the same manner as described with respect to the wrench of FIGURES 1 through 7. This slot has been omitted to avoid duplication and to illustrate use of a wrench without a positive lock.

The wrench of this invention is particularly advantageous because of theease of operating the jaws and locking them when using only one hand to operate the wrench. The ease of operation plus the simplicity of the wrench make it very desirable. Furthermore, the compactness of the wrench makes it possible to use it in inaccessible locations where prior art adjustable wrenches could not be used.

It will be. understood that the above description is by way of illustration rather than limitation and that, in accordance with the provisions of the patent laws, variations and modifications of the specific devices disclosed herein may be made with departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. An adjustable open-end wrench comprising a handle having a stationary jaw at one end and a box-type slideway therein, a movable jaw carrier slidably mounted in said slideway for adjustment to a desired jaw spacing, a stationary ratchet rigidly mounted in said handle adjacent 0t and parallel to said movable jaw carrier, a pawl carried by said movable jaw carrier for reciprocating movement into and out of engagement with said ratchet teeth to prevent movement of said movable carrier to a wider jaw spacing when in engagement with said ratchet teeth, spring means biasing said pawl toward engagement with said ratchet teeth, a post rigidly connected at one end to said pawl and extending through an elongated slot in said ratchet and through said movable jaw carrier, an actuating button connected to the other end of said post on the face of said movable carrier remote from said pawl and said ratchet, said button when depressed in a direction tending to open the wrench disengaging the teeth of said ratchet and said pawl to permit sliding of said jaw carrier to a position of wider jaw spacing, said slot limit ing the amount of opening of the wrench jaws by limiting the sliding movement of said post along the length of said slot, and a locking slide mounted on the outer face of said movable jaw carrier for movement into and out of engagement with said actuating button to lock the pawl against the ratchet.

2. A wrench as defined in claim 1 wherein said slide has a projecting portion which slides under said button to prevent movement of the button and can be retracted to permit depressing of the button to release said pawl.

3. A compact open-end crescent wrench for use in relatively inaccessible locations comprising a handle portion (1) having an integral work-engaging jaw portion (3) on the upper end thereof and having a transverse box-type slideway (7) between said handle portion and said jaw portion, said slideway having opposed lip portions (9, extending toward each other, a movable L- shaped jaw carrier (4) having a slide (8) interfitting in said'slideway, said jaw carrier and said jaw portion (3) providing an adjustable wrench head (2) of generally uniform thickness having rectangular work-engaging faces (5, 6) perpendicular to said slide and extending away from said handle portion, and adjusting means for holding the jaws of said wrench head in a series of different positions, said adjusting means being characterized by a transverse slot (14) through the handle member parallel to said slideway and opposite the central portion of said slide,

a bore extending through said slide and aligned with said slot, 7

a short post (13) with a length less than the thickness of said wrench head (2) mounted to reciprocate in said bore and extending through said slot (14), said.

slot permitting substantial movement of the slide in the slideway and engaging the post to limit such movement,

a shallow actuating button (17) located at the outer face of said slide (8) and rigidly connected to said post,

stationary ratchet teeth formed on each side of said slot and facing away from said slide, said ratchet teeth having working faces parallel to said work-engaging faces (5, 6),

a shallow pawl (12) rigidly connected to the end of said post remote from said actuating button and hav- 6 ing teeth (16) for mating with said ratchet teeth, said pawl moving away from the ratchet to release said slide when said button is fully depressed, and

a spring (18) mounted between the actuating button and the movable jaw carrier for yieldingly maintaining the mating teeth of the pawl in locking engagement with said ratchet teeth.

4. A compact crescent wrench as defined in claim 3 wherein the outer surface of said pawl (12) is located inwardly of the outer surface of said wrench head (2), and the outer surface of said actuating button (17) is adjacent the outer surface of said wrench head, whereby said wrench can be used in relatively inaccessible locations.

5. A compact crescent wrench as defined in claim 3 wherein a shallow locking slide (25) is mounted adjacent said actuating button (17 on the outer face of said slide (8) for sliding movement into and out of engagement with said actuating button to lock the pawl (12) against the ratchet (15 whereby both said actuating button and said locking slide may readily be operated by the thumb of a hand gripping said handle portion to effect adjustment of the jaws of the wrench.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 455,821 7/1891 Schofield 8ll45 1,982,070 11/1934 Rivers 8l137 2,050,102 8/1936 Kujala et a1 8ll45 X 2,957,378 10/1960 Foss 8l145 X 3,256,759 6/1966 Webbeking 81145 X WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

MILTON S. MEHR, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN ADJUSTABLE OPEN-END WRENCH COMPRISING A HANDLE HAVING A STATIONARY JAW AT ONE END AND A BOX-TYPE SLIDEWAY THEREIN, A MOVABLE JAW CARRIER SLIDABLY MOUNTED IN SAID SLIDEWAY FOR ADJUSTMENT TO A DESIRED JAW SPACING, A STATIONARY RATCHET RIGIDLY MOUNTED IN SAID HANDLE ADJACENT TO AND PARALLEL TO SAID MOVABLE JAW CARRIER, A PAWL CARRIED BY SAID MOVABLE JAW CARRIER FOR RECIPROCATING MOVEMENT INTO AND OUT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID RATCHET TEETH TO PREVENT MOVEMENT OF SAID MOVABLE CARRIER TO A WIDER JAW SPACING WHEN IN ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID RATCHET TEETH, SPRING MEANS BIASING SAID PAWL TOWARDS ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID RATCHET TEETH, A POST RIGIDLY CONNECTED AT ONE END TO SAID PAWL AND EXTENDING THROUGH AN ELONGATED SLOT IN SAID RATCHET AND THROUGH SAID MOVABLE JAW CARRIER, AN ACTUATING BUTTON CONNECTED TO THE OTHER END OF SAID POST ON THE FACE OF SAID MOVABLE CARRIER REMOTE FROM SAID PAWL AND SAID RATCHET, SAID BUTTON WHEN DEPRESSED IN A DIRECENGAGEMENT WITH SAID ACTUATING BUTTON TO LOCK THE PAWL TION TENDING TO OPEN THE WRENCH DISENGAGING THE TEETH OF SAID RATCHET AND SAID PAWL TO PERMIT SLIDING OF SAID JAW CARRIER TO A POSITION OF WIDER JAW SPACING, SAID SLOT LIMITING THE AMOUNT OF OPENING OF THE WRENCH JAWS BY LIMITING THE SLIDING MOVEMENT OF SAID POST ALONG THE LENGTH OF SAID SLOT, AND A LOCKING SLIDE MOUNTED ON THE OUTER FACE OF SAID MOVABLE JAW CARRIER FOR MOVEMENT INTO AND OUT OF AGAINST THE RATCHET. 